The Successful Failure

Throughout history some of the greatest people often failed time after time before they really made it to the top. Others thought that they had failed but realized at a later stage in life that what they believed to be failure was in fact a grand success. Still others never succeeded in the conventional sense of the word, but became the hallmark of marvelous accomplishments, sometimes, without ever being aware of it.

When we carefully study the life of Moshe, we are confronted with a series of failures. Until his eighties he spent most of his time on the run without getting anywhere: After a short period of tranquility at the palace of Pharaoh, Moshe had to run for his life after he killed an Egyptian. He spent many years in different countries, often hiding from the soldiers of the Egyptian regime, never enjoying a quiet moment. On other occasions he continuously failed to make any impression on his surroundings. There is little doubt that when he reached the age of eighty, just before God called to him, he must have thought that his life was over and that is was predominantly wasted. Nothing was accomplished, he was still the same shepherd trying to obtain some meager food, running around in circles.
And even after God called to him in his eightieth year, at the burning bush and he is consequently sent to liberate his people from the bondage of Pharaoh, his failures seem by far to outdo his successes: His first encounter with Pharaoh was a complete defeat. Instead of getting Pharaoh to agree that he should let the Jews have their freedom, Moshe’s audience with Pharaoh caused a stiffening of the latter’s heart and his fellow Jews were now doomed to work even harder. Each time after a major plague, Moshe was convinced that his goal was achieved and now he would be able to take the Jews out. A little later he discovered that Pharaoh had once more changed his mind and again Moshe’s high hopes were crushed.
In the desert he encounters one rebellion after the other. The Jews blame him for all sorts of crimes and even demand to return to Egypt. After the debacle of the golden calf God tells him that He will destroy this people. No doubt Moshe must have felt that he had completely failed to educate his people to avert such a terrible transgression. Still later, after he sends emissaries to the land to “spy” the land, he is told that he will have to walk around in circles and spend another 39 years in the desert! On another occasion his opponent Korach desires to undermine his authority, and Moshe’s is nearly murdered by his own people. And then there is the great fiasco whereby Moshe ignores the exact instruction of God and instead of speaking to the stone in order produce water, he smites it and consequently hears that he will never be allowed to enter the land of Israel. This devastating news must have worked as the final blow to all his expectations. Now that he was not allowed to fulfill his greatest dream, of living in the land, he must have felt that “it was all over” and that all his good intentions and deeds were of little value.

That he would become the greatest Jew of all time, that his name would be immortalized in Scripture and that it would be on the lips of millions and millions of people for thousands of years, probably never entered his mind. Indeed he may never have known what an eminent man he really was and that there would never be a person who could come close to his heels as far as accomplishments are concerned.

What was Moshe’s secret that enabled him to continue in spite of everything to fight for his goals and succeed where so many others would have failed?
The answer is simple: he knew how to lose. He knew that his failures were in fact the building stones of his future successes. While he may never have known what his accomplishments were, he continued to fight and ultimately prevailed.He who lies on the ground cannot fall, says a Yiddish proverb and many who are the most critical of those who failed do not realize that they themselves never left the ground. Those who never fail, never accomplish since defeat is the necessary step to success. The famous American philosopher Paul Tillich once remarked: “The awareness of the ambiguity of one’s highest achievements as well as one’s deepest failures is a definite symptom of maturity.”

Above anything else one has to ask oneself what real success is all about. Let us draw an example from the world of a fitness center. This site consists of a large hall filled with many pieces of equipment which could take us on long journeys.
There are bicycles, which go nowhere, no matter how hard we peddle. There are rowing boats but no water, skies without snow and even climbing frames on which you can climb for hours without getting any higher. Still, you will find lots of people throughout most of the day working hard in the fitness center but getting nowhere. This however does not sadden them. In fact many return next week and try again. The reason is obvious: Success with such equipment is not measured in how far you get but how much you gain in making your body more healthy from within. Externally is seems that there is no success whatsoever but inwardly the human being is growing tremendously. The superficial viewer may draw the conclusion that the cyclist, the mountain-climber and the rower are all failures. The wise man smiles and knows that they are great winners.

Share this:

About Nathan Lopes Cardozo

Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo is the Founder and Dean of the David Cardozo Academy and the Bet Midrash of Avraham Avinu in Jerusalem. A sought-after lecturer on the international stage for both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences, Rabbi Cardozo is the author of 13 books and numerous articles in both English and Hebrew. He heads a Think Tank focused on finding new Halachic and philosophical approaches to dealing with the crisis of religion and identity amongst Jews and the Jewish State of Israel. Hailing from the Netherlands, Rabbi Cardozo is known for his original and often fearlessly controversial insights into Judaism. His ideas are widely debated on an international level on social media, blogs, books and other forums.

Every week I receive hundreds of emails, as well as a host of important observations on my essays, via our website, Facebook, newspaper blogs, and other media outlets. It is therefore completely impossible for me to respond – for which I apologize – but please be assured that I read every comment, which I deeply appreciate and from which I learn so much. Only in exceptional cases will I respond in a subsequent essay. My office staff will try to be more prompt in posting these remarks on our website.

Thank you very much for taking the time to share your comments with me, as well as with your fellow readers. I hope you will continue to do so.

Subscribe to Thoughts to Ponder

The David Cardozo Academy seeks to revitalize the Jewish tradition and restore the relevance of Judaism as a force of authentic, non-dogmatic Jewish religiosity in which Jews once more take pride in the divine Torah and its great moral and spiritual mission towards all of mankind.

From the DCA Think Tank

We're delighted to share with you a full-color bulletin with photos detailing what the David Cardozo Academy Think Tank has been up to this year - our regular activities plus an Open Think Tank for the public in March. There are also questions for you to ponder - it wouldn't be the DCA Think Tank without them! Read more →

Think Tank Blogs

Spiritual experiences may represent our yearning for the “infinite”, but this yearning can only find expression in seeking to improve ourselves to the best of our ability and seeking to relate with love to the people and the world around us, while at the same time coming to an acceptance of our finiteness and separateness, overcoming the grief and outrage we feel at not being everything. Yearning for the infinite is really a way of learning how to be finite. Read more →